Manuscripts, 1933-1953
Here is a selection of manuscripts written by Earl Clement Davis during his time in Petersham, Massachusetts. Correspondence is also contained in this selection.
Any undated manuscripts are listed first, followed by a reverse chronological order.
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A New Note in Fiction
Earl Clement Davis
This writing is an analysis of fiction's role in showing the human struggle with the changing forces of history, particularly the move away from authoritarianism. Authors mentioned include, Hervey Allen's Anthony Adverse, Honoré de Balzac, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, Leo Tolstoy, Knut Hamsun's Growth of the Soil, John Galsworthy's The Forsyte Saga, Mazo de la Roche's Jalna series, and Sinclair Lewis' Main Street and Babbitt.
While this manuscript does not have a date, the fact that it mentions Hervey Allen’s novel Anthony Adverse, published in 1933, and does not mention the award-winning movie of Anthony Adverse that premiered in 1936, suggests a date of 1934 or 1935.
The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.
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No Title. Notes on the Ministry
Earl Clement Davis
Brief notes on Earl Davis' views on the nature of the ministry. As is consistent with his perspective, he is forward looking. He emphasizes Congregational polity and discovery, not revelation.
The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.
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The Next Step for Our Unitarian Churches
Earl Clement Davis
This was a talk that Earl Davis gave at a conference. We have yet to identify the conference or its exact date, but internal evidence – referencing the past “Hoover Administration” and the Roosevelt Administration “brain trust” -- suggests this was presented in 1934 or shortly thereafter.
This writing is a good representation of Davis' core views, drawing from the history of Congregationalism into a discussion of new problems. He ends with a a poem by Jean Untermeyer.
Date refers to Date Given
The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.
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Letter by Jose Chapiro to Earl Clement Davis
Jose Chapiro
There is a substantial expression of gratitude for Earl Davis in the Acknowledgments section of José Chapiro's 1947 book Thoughts for Each Day selected from the writings of William Ellery Channing:
“Finally, I am particularly gratified to inscribe here the name of Earl C. Davis, the sage of Petersham, Massachusetts, and a distinguished citizen of the Free State of William Ellery Channing. A tireless reader, he is also a perpetual student of that ‘gay science’—the word is Nietzsche’s—in which scholarship and life complement and fertilize each other. Earl C. Davis cultivates it with the same joy and earnestness of purpose with which he cultivates the flowers and vegetables in his garden. Above all, he has an uncommon knowledge of the realm of Channing. He has roamed through it many times and in every direction. He knows its apparent beauties and hidden charms, its peaks and its depths; and its sunny landscapes still remain the favorite goal of his spiritual excursions and rambles. Earl C. Davis often served me as guide, as counsellor, and as a source from which I could draw valuable information that it would have been difficult to find elsewhere. I thank him.” (p. 440).
The author and his wife Elisabeth gave a copy of the newly published book to Earl and Annie on December 21, 1947. Their gift came with a letter and was inscribed. Both the letter and inscription are available here.
Evidently, Earl Davis was not entirely comfortable with this acknowledgement, for there is mention of it in a letter from John Haynes Holmes (1879-1964), who was a fellow student with Earl Davis at the Harvard Divinity School (both graduated in 1904). In a letter to Earl Davis dated April 27, 1949, Holmes writes, “I am amused by what you write of your embarrassment in the matter of Chapiro’s reference to you in the Channing book. I think you are over-sensitive on this point. The tribute to you is wholly deserved, and in the proper place. It would be a real loss to have this gracious tribute of Chapiro to your sympathy and help removed from later editions. And this same opinion of mine applies to Mrs. Hapgood as well as to yourself.”
There is some uncertainty as to the dates. The letter is dated December 21, 1947. The book’s publication date is 1948, which is consistent with a early edition gift for Christmas, 1947. The inscription in the book, however, says “Christmas, 1948,” and offers “heartiest wishes for 1949.”
The primary downloadable document contains both the original letter followed by the transcription. The three supplementary files are the inscription, the original letter, and the transcription, respectively. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.
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Modern Christianity at Work in the Country
Earl Clement Davis
This is an earlier and more comprehensive treatment of the article "The Village Church", featured in the March 1944 issue of The Christian Register. It is a rather full discussion of the many roles that the church -- particularly the First Congregational Church (Unitarian) in Petersham -- plays in its community, with regards to families, individuals, the community, worship and religious practice. Davis references Carl Jung and Lewis Mumford.
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The Congregational Genius of Our Churches
Earl Clement Davis
An opening presentation Earl Davis gave to an Institute for Ministers that he co-organized in Petersham, MA. We have yet to confirm the date of the Institute or its other components.
This work is Davis's most comprehensive statement of the Congregational Polity's history of development, whereby each individual church congregation has the authority to establish religious practice as their congregation sees fit, including electing their minister. His history starts with the Pilgrims and Puritans, continues through the conflicts of the late 1600s, and into the early 19th century with the appointment of Henry Ware, Professor of Divinity at Harvard, and William Ellery Channing's Unitarian writings.He proposes that the Congregational Polity, and the move from revelation, authority, and obedience to discovery, persuasion and consent, is the appropriate response to the then current rise of dictatorships in politics and the authoritarian tendencies in religion.
Date refers to Date Given.
The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing. There is an additional supplemental file featuring the full bibliography for this writing.
Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird. -
Democracy Versus Authority in Church (and State)
Earl Clement Davis and Carl Heath Kopf
This address, written with Carl Heath Kopf, minister of the Mt. Vernon Church of Boston, was delivered at the Massachusetts Convention of Congregational Ministers in King’s Chapel, Boston. They argue that the direction of history is from Authority, Revelation, and Obedience to Freedom, Discovery, and Consent. They discuss early efforts of the Pilgrims in the creation of a congregational focused church.
Date refers to Date Given.
The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.
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Centralization of Denominational Government: Do We Need More or Less?
Earl Clement Davis
In November of 1935, Earl Davis led a round table discussion on the topic of Denominational Government at a conference in Cincinnati. This incomplete introduction to the round table covers material more concisely the material in his "The Congregational Genius of Our Churches" (1936).
Date refers to Date Given.
The primary downloadable document contains the original document followed by the transcription. The bottom of each item page also features the primary document as an embedded pdf for browsing.
Transcription by Davis Baird. Item description based off writing and context provided by Davis Baird.
